Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 4 Double Happiness
Not long after Mrs. Zhao Jia arrived in the old lady's courtyard, Mrs. Li got a letter from Mrs. Li's side. Although the relationship between the sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law was only faint, they were decent on the surface. After tidying up, they brought a few concubines and maidservants to the backyard.

Seeing the concubines behind Mrs. Li, the old lady thought of something and asked Mrs. Zhao Jia: "I remember a few days ago when I mentioned that you have a butterfly in your courtyard. How many months has it been now?"

Baodie is Cao Quan's concubine. She was originally a girl in Zhaojia's house, and she became a concubine after she became pregnant.

Mrs. Zhao Jia didn't twist sour and vinegar like in the past, but replied with a smile: "It's been eight months, the yard has been arranged early, and the midwife and nurse have also been found. The ancestors can rest assured and wait for the hug." grandson!"

The old lady and Mrs. Li were surprised to see Zhao Jia's generosity.Mrs. Zhang standing behind Mrs. Zhao Jia took a step forward, said with a smile on her face, "We still have to congratulate our ancestors, we have a wife again!"

The old matriarch looked at Zhao Jiashi, with a bit of concern on his face: "When did you find out, you have to be careful in the first few months, this is not for fun!"

Mrs. Li was by the side, congratulating her quickly.Mrs. Zhao Jia thanked her, and then replied to the old lady: "I just found out this morning, so I came here eagerly to announce the good news to my ancestors. It is said that it has been two and a half months. No wonder I have no taste recently, and I still like to eat sour food." Yes, I thought it was because of the hot weather, but there it is!" There was a bit of satisfaction in the words, and the annoyance of the concubine's pregnancy disappeared.She has already given birth to a concubine daughter and two concubine sons, and she is pregnant with another concubine. Even if she has a concubine, her status will not be shaken at all, but it will make her virtuous.How could she be unhappy after thinking about it.

After hearing this, the old matriarch smiled and nodded: "'Sour son and hot girl' is a good sign, and I will definitely give birth to a big fat boy!" As he spoke, he looked at the eldest daughter-in-law Li, with a little more meaning in his eyes.

Although Mrs. Li laughed along with her, her hands and feet were cold.After Cao Yong was born, there was no movement in her stomach, and it was not in a hurry for the couple to have sons and daughters.It's just that the old lady sees that the eldest son's family is thin, and Cao Yong doesn't have a brother to accompany him. Whenever he hears that the second son has a happy event, he has to make arrangements for the eldest son to take a concubine.It seems that the new aunt will pay again soon.

Mrs. Zhao Jia knew something about it, and she was happy to see Mrs. Li's jokes, and she was only chattering and amusing, and the old lady's face was full of joy.

Not to mention the gossip of the female relatives in the backyard, Cao Yin from the front office finished his business but did not return to the inner house, his face was a bit worried.The chief aide in the mansion, Zhuang Chang, had been with him for many years, and he kept everything secret. When he saw him, he asked, "My lord, why are you troubled?"

Seeing that there was no one else in the study, Cao Yin glanced at Zhuang Chang, and said, "No outsiders are there, why did Brother Tian Xing call you 'Master', but I have wronged you. If you meet an eighth-rank official, you must greet him!"

"Tianxing" is Zhuang Chang's word. Apart from being the chief staff member of Zhizao Mansion on the surface, he also has a secret identity, that is, the counselor of Jiangnan General Administration Department, and he is an official of the fifth rank.The same is true for Cao Yin, in addition to being the fifth-rank official of the Jiangning Weaving Mansion on the surface, he is also the chief official of the Tongzheng Department, the third-rank official.

The Jiangnan General Administration Department is a department under the personal jurisdiction of Emperor Kangxi. It was originally established to better control the Jiangnan political situation, and it can be regarded as the eyes and ears of the court here.In the early days, it mainly focused on and suppressed the anti-Qing forces among the people. When the anti-Qing forces diminished in recent years, the scope of attention of the Secretary of General Administration has been wider. From the privacy of officials to the livelihood of the people, they are all summarized on a regular basis and classified in secret. The form is presented to the emperor for personal reading.Because of its secrecy, this yamen is unknown to outsiders except for the emperor and a few important ministers who went to the study.

Hearing Cao Yin's words, Zhuang Chang stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Brother Dongting is impetuous. It's rare to even say such complaints!" Having said this, he paused and said: "Let the old man guess, could it be for the eldest son!"

Cao Yin sighed and nodded his head: "Just because of this evil obstacle, I have already turned seven years old, and the old lady still protects me like this, and I only went to school for a few days. How can I not worry about such a waste of time!"

Zhuang Chang pondered for a moment: "Brother Dongting acted too hastily. The eldest son is the eldest grandson of the mansion. It is natural for Mrs. Tai to prefer some things. Based on the relationship between the Long Live Lord and the Cao family, if there is no accident, this weaving mansion will still fall. For those who are on the head of the eldest son, don't pay too much attention to fame."

Cao Yin shook his head: "Even so, you can't treat it carelessly. It's okay to be young now, but if you are older and want to work in Beijing as an errand, if you become an unlearned and incompetent dandy, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep the dignity you have saved in two lifetimes." !"

After all, it was a family matter of the Cao family, so Zhuang Chang didn't want to say much, so he told some news about the capital, and Fang left.

Cao Yong in the backyard didn't feel well. After all, Cao Song was a six-year-old child. After a while, he became mischievous and chased the white cranes in the pond.The white cranes are all domesticated, and their wings have been pruned, so they can't fly, so they can only run around, avoiding this little ancestor.

Cao Song laughed "haha", his clothes were wet under his knees, and he didn't care about it at all. Seeing Cao Yong standing beside him, he splashed water on him.Cao Yong couldn't dodge in time, and was caught in the drenching.

Cao Yong saw that Cao Song was having a good time, so he let him not care. He didn't want a gust of wind to blow, put his wet clothes on his body, and sneezed heavily.

Cao Yong was extremely depressed. It seems that regardless of the future fortune of the Cao family, the most important thing is to maintain a good body, otherwise this small body may pass away someday.

The tortoise shell just came out of the room, saw it, hurried forward, squatted down, wiped the water splashed on Cao Yong's face with a handkerchief, his face was full of worry: "Little ancestor, it will be better, if you catch a cold again what to do?"

Mrs. Zhang, who followed Mrs. Zhao Jia, came out to look for Cao Song. When she saw Cao Song covered in water, she hurried over and carried him out of the pool.After a lot of fuss, several maidservants came out and took away the wet clothes of the two brothers.Cao Song didn't bring a change of clothes. He wore Cao Yong's, which was tight and a lot smaller.

After tossing for a while, it was the second quarter of Weishi, and it was dinner time.Because the grandchildren of Xifu came, the old lady asked the kitchen to add more dishes.The round dinner table is placed on the west side. According to everyone's rules, daughter-in-laws are not allowed to serve on the table.The old lady sits in the north, with her granddaughters Cao Ying and Cao Yan on her left, and her grandsons Cao Yong and Cao Song on her right.Cao Shuo was young, and was fed by a nanny sitting on a small bench next to him.

As described in the Dream of the Red Chamber, after everyone was seated, the maids held copper basins with a diameter of about one foot, filled with clean water.

Cao Yong has been here for a few days, and he has become familiar with the rules of eating. Although he feels cumbersome, he can only do as the Romans do.After washing my hands, I wiped it with a silk handkerchief.

The cold dishes on the table have been set up, eight plates in total, placed in small five-inch plates: brine elbow flower, pine flower belly, cordyceps chicken, rabbit breast, assorted tofu, shredded pickled melon, clear rice noodles, red oil Bamboo shoots.After everyone sits down and washes their hands, the hot dishes start to be served. There are also eight plates, seven-inch plates, three delicacies shark's fin, bergamot sea cucumber, steamed white fish, fried crab, stuffed duck with rice, braised lotus seeds in sugar, roasted lily, and fried loofah.Then, there are four bowls, rotten soft-shelled turtle, wild duck with mushrooms, chicken wings with winter melon, and cabbage in broth.Then there are two soups, duck blood soup and three delicacies meatball soup.Finally, there are four small snacks, lotus seed cake, bean paste roll, pea yellow, and golden silk siu mai.

The old lady eats rouge rice, and everyone else eats a bowl of green rice.

Considering that Mrs. Zhao Jia was pregnant, the old matriarch told her to rest in the east room after setting up the dishes. Mrs. Li took Cao Yin's two concubines, Mrs. Feng and Mrs. Qian, to prepare dishes for everyone.

Cao Yong just drank lotus root noodles not long ago, and he was not hungry. He ate half a bowl of rice with pickled melon shreds and bamboo shoots, and he drank half a bowl of duck blood soup slowly. Seeing that everyone else put down their chopsticks , before putting down the spoon.The maids offered half a bowl of tea for gargling.The water from rinsing mouth was spit into the delicate and small spittoon held by another servant girl.Then, according to everyone's preferences, different teas were served.The old lady is Pu'er tea, the two young ladies are jasmine tea, and the two young masters are Biluochun.

The dishes on the table were removed, and most of them only moved a couple of chopsticks.The old matriarch pointed out a few more delicious dishes and asked someone to deliver them to Baodie in Xifu.

Cao Yong saw that Cao Song was dozing off when he was full, so he dragged him to the Yuancui Pavilion and fell down.Sisters Cao Ying and Cao Yan also followed in, sitting on a small stool by the bed and talking to the two brothers.Seeing that their brothers and sisters were getting close, the old lady was very happy, and asked someone to wash the melons, fruits, pears and peaches and send them over.

The north side of Longcui Pavilion is facing the lotus pond in the back garden. The windows are all open and covered with grass-green screens. The cool breeze is blowing, and the heat is not felt at all.

Cao Yong half leaned on the bed, looking at the two little girls sitting on the ground.Cao Ying was wearing a pink silk gown and a milky white waistcoat. Her personality was not as aggressive as Zhao Jia's, but she was a bit shy like a southern girl, and her voice was soft and soft.Cao Yan is dressed in a sky blue dress. She was taught by her father Cao Yin since she was a child. She knows everything about piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.Although he is only ten years old, his speech and demeanor are already good, faintly revealing everyone's demeanor.

It seems that women from the Eight Banners have to participate in the court draft, and the Cao family is under Zhengbai's flag, of course it is no exception.I vaguely remembered that Cao Yin had a daughter who married a woman as her main concubine. If there were no accidents, she would be Cao Yan, but she didn't know what the future of Cao Ying would be.Thinking of this, Cao Yong was a little distracted. Although there is a daughter who is a princess, the Cao family still cannot escape the fate of ransacking the house. The prince seems to have no real power.Otherwise, as the prince's brother-in-law, he would not have to bother about the fate of the Cao family if he leaned against a big tree to enjoy the shade.However, Cao Ying's fate is completely unknown. It is estimated that she will marry a well-matched husband and be a virtuous wife like an ordinary daughter of everyone.

Seeing Cao Yong looking at her, Cao Ying thought he wanted to eat fruit, so she stuck a grape with a bamboo stick and handed it over.Cao Yong took it, thank you.Cao Ying just smiled and retreated to her seat.Cao Yan refused, and put on a stern face, pretending to be angry and said: "Your brother is really rude, he pretends to be cute in front of grandmother, but he is so arrogant behind his back, he doesn't even call out sister, be careful and tell father to teach you a lesson!"

Being threatened by a child, Cao Yongxin rolled his eyes, and on the surface he still defended, saying that he didn't.Cao Yan deliberately teased him, how could he give up, and his eloquence was another lecture.Seeing that their siblings were arguing a lot, Cao Ying covered her mouth with a handkerchief, giggling.

Suddenly, there was a "click" in the old lady's room, as if the sound of a cup falling to the ground.There was silence in the outside room, and the children in the inner room sensed something was wrong and stopped making any noise.Then, the old matriarch raised his voice and said: "That's it, go back and tidy up the house, and send someone to send it over tomorrow, good things come in pairs, so you don't have to arrange my old lady's favoritism!"

After a while, Mrs. Zhang came over with a few servant girls from the East Mansion, and asked Cao Ying and Cao Song to go out.Cao Song rubbed his eyes and followed Mrs. Zhang out.Cao Ying and Cao Yan looked at each other, and walked out with lowered eyebrows.Cao Yong also got up and followed behind the two little girls.

Mrs. Zhao Jia saluted and said goodbye. After the two siblings came out, she ordered the nurse to pick up Cao Shuo and return home.The fragments of teacups on the ground have been cleaned up, and only water stains remain to prove that the sound just heard is real.Although Zhao Jia lowered her head, Cao Yong saw that her shoulders moved slightly, revealing half of her face was pale.

What happened in the end, Cao Yong was full of curiosity in his heart, obviously there was still a good atmosphere after eating, how did it become like this in only two quarters of an hour.Thinking of this, I looked at the old lady carefully, calm, showing neither emotion nor anger; looking at Mrs. Li again, although his face was plain, but his eyes were quite complicated, as if he was a little mocking and tired.

After Mrs. Zhao Jia left with the children, the old lady sent Cao Yan back first, and then explained a few words to Mrs. Li, preparing two sets of dowry for Liuli and Jadeite.Liuli was sent to the front yard, jadeite was sent to the west mansion, and each of them was assigned two third-class maids to follow.Mrs. Li responded calmly, and took people down to prepare.

The old lady was lying on the soft couch, thinking about something.Cao Yong sat on the edge of the kang and beat her legs up and down.In fact, he was very surprised, it seems that the old lady gave Liuli and Feicui, the big maids beside her, to Cao Yin and Cao Quan brothers as concubines.No wonder Mrs. Zhaojia's complexion is so ugly, unlike Mrs. Li's virtuousness, she has always covered the sky with one hand in her own mansion. Although there is an aunt Baodie, it is her maid who helped her up for the sake of looking good.It is estimated that she is also regretting it. If there is no such blatant show off, it is estimated that there will be no such unexpected "happy event".

Cao Yong didn't know whether he should envy his cheap father, a 43-year-old man who wants to take a sixteen or seven-year-old girl as his concubine, and the old cow eats tender grass.Thinking of Li's expression just now, Cao Yong felt a little distressed, after all, he is the biological mother who is connected with this small body.The daughter has a pure heart, the relationship between mother and daughter is weak, the son is taken by the mother-in-law, the husband has a lot of business in the front office, and he has two or three beautiful concubines. She is a "good wife and mother" in the eyes of everyone. It is really bitter.

(End of this chapter)